


Blue Flowers and Purple Hippos

by WinterAndLittleBrunettes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Coffeebeans and Cupcakes Klance Zine, Fluff, Hence the title, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, and they pine for each other across the establishment, dont even worry guys no angst touches this, except for the writer I guess, it involves blue flowers and purple hippos, klance works together at a cafe, pidge and hunk have had #enough, since Im angst and everything dark and twisty but whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22335031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterAndLittleBrunettes/pseuds/WinterAndLittleBrunettes
Summary: Lance and Keith work together at Altean Cafe, a coffee shop with an in-store bakery where they can watch each other work from across the establishment. Watch each other and pine. Over the span of a few months, Hunk and Pidge try to wear their friends down to get off their asses and ask the other out already.Do they build up the courage to do it?
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 135
Collections: Coffeebeans and Cupcakes Klance Zine





	Blue Flowers and Purple Hippos

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, my lovelies!
> 
> I know it's been a hot minute since I posted anything here... So I do apologize for that! I've been busy working on commissions and other personal projects, as well as basically living on campus for 30 hour weeks ( _not to mention trying to graduate this summer_ ), but I'm always active on my Instagram! If you're interested, consider following me there!
> 
> This is a fic I wrote about a year ago for the [Coffee Beans and Cupcakes Zine](https://coffeebeansandcupcakeszine.tumblr.com/), which I was featured as a guest writer in! The entire thing was an absolute pleasure to work on, and the mod team was spectacular ( _and I can say that because they're my friends Steph and Susan <3_). All of the pieces made for the zine were absolutely incredible, consider checking out the zine's [tumblr](https://coffeebeansandcupcakeszine.tumblr.com/), [twitter](https://twitter.com/beans_zine) and [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/coffeebeansandcupcakes/?hl=en) to see the other pieces!
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the first fic featured in the Coffeebeans and Cupcakes Zine! <3

# Blue Flowers and Purple Hippos

Lance loved working here.

Altean Cafe was in a good lively part of town, somewhere that got a lot of foot traffic but didn’t suffer during rush hour. It wasn’t too far from his and Hunk’s shared apartment, and working at the same place as your best friend was a blast.

Allura, the owner, was a fabulous person to work for. She was kind and caring, but knew how to toe the line between professional and friendly like she made it herself. And honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if she did. She made sure her father’s business thrived, keeping things new and fresh inside and out. Coran, her second in command here, had been here since her father owned the place and was an integral part of the business, both socially and financially.

The days Coran worked were the most active days, and Lance understood that. He loved the man long before he worked for him and would definitely die for him if the need ever arose.

Plus, the sights inside the cafe were _certainly_ a bonus.

Everyone who worked here was trained either at the cafe or the bakery. Both counters were directly across from each other towards the back of the shop, so people could form two separate lines for whichever type of thing they were looking for. So it meant that Lance could watch Keith work _all_ day long.

He wasn’t above admitting that whatever Keith’s hair was ( _he was convinced it was a mullet, but Keith swore vehemently otherwise_ ), it worked well for him. Like, _really_ well. Especially when he put it up in a high ponytail, showing off the bit of tattoo that peeked out from the top of his shirt. His arms were certainly drool-worthy, rippling powerfully every time he moved, just to make Lance swoon. And his eyes, normally hidden behind his hair, were heart-stopping. Somehow never appearing to be the same colour, either blue or grey or even purple, looking into Keith’s eyes was something Lance wanted to do all day long.

So, working across from him gave Lance plenty of opportunities to see his crush in action. But working with him also presented challenges; they had similar breaks, and got to spend a lot of time together. They flirted tentatively back and forth ( _or, at least,_ **_he_ ** _thought they were flirting_ ), enough that he was confident that he might have a tiny chance with Keith. Maybe. But he wouldn’t know until he tried.

Hunk had spent the last four months listening to his best friend pine and whine after their coworker, and lately tried to convince him to make a move. But, making a move required the balls to do it, and Lance wasn’t confident he _could_ do it. So he’d continued to whine and pine.

And the worst part was that Lance always had to wait until they were in the safety of their apartment to talk about Keith. He knew he was loud, so he couldn’t scream about him right as he needed to, since his voice would surely carry across the establishment.

Lance truly loved working here, and there were a lot of perks to being employed here. But seeing Keith did _dangerous_ things to his sanity.

He’d have to build up the guts to say something to him. Eventually. Maybe. Hopefully?

* * *

It was one of those days where the cafe was quiet. The door stayed closed for the most part, only quiet chatting amongst customers and the radio playing could be heard. There were only a few people hanging around the cafe, doing their own thing, holed up at their own table with a laptop or a book. There was even a couple on some sort of date, hands linked across the table.

Lance was a little jealous of them, but they _were_ pretty cute.

He gave the counter another slow wipe since he had nothing else to do. He’d already cleaned out all the display cases, wiped down the counters all the way over to where their counter ended, and rearranged the bakery items by colours of the rainbow. And he still had three hours left on his shift.

It was a slow day.

At the very least, Keith looked like he was just as bored.

He was in the midst of making a drink for someone on staff, pouring milk slowly and in some sort of pattern to make a design in the warm liquid. His brows were furrowed in concentration, and the way his long sleeve shirt was rolled up on his forearms _did_ things to Lance’s fluttering heart.

All Lance could do now, was count down the minutes until his break. The time on the register told him it wouldn’t be for another forty-five minutes at the very least, so he groaned and collapsed dramatically across the clean counters.

That caught Keith’s eye, and he turned to look at Lance. When their gazes met, he offered Lance a small sympathetic smile.

Lance knew they both had the same break today, so they were both eagerly awaiting their reprieve, it seemed.

The door to the break room slash bakery swung open suddenly, and Hunk stepped out with a tray of fresh baked cupcakes. “Hey, Lance,” Hunk called, and held the tray up, “how should I decorate these? What do we have the least of, chocolate or buttercream icing?”

Lance glanced into the display case. “Buttercream, by the looks of it.”

“Sweet, thanks!” Hunk turned back towards the break room.

Suddenly, Lance was hit with an idea. “Hunk, wait!” He exclaimed, stopping Hunk in his tracks. He rushed over to him, and leaned in close to ask him, “Do you think I could have one of those?”

“You pig,” Hunk said teasingly, “you _always_ want the goods fresh out of the oven.”

Lance gasped, offended by his best friend’s remark. “That’s when they’re the _best,_ my dearest Hunky bear. But no, this one’s not for me.” He glanced around cautiously, before dropping his voice to a conspirative whisper, “It’s for Keith. Red velvet’s his favourite”

“ _Ohhohoho_ ,” Hunk chuckled, a teasing lilt to his voice, and glanced over to the man in question. “So you’re finally gonna ask him out, huh?”

Hunk said that a little too loud for Lance’s tastes, so he quickly shushed him with a hand over his mouth, looking at him pointedly. “Not so loud, dude!” He hissed. “Don’t make me change my mind, you _know_ how long it’s taken me to build up the courage to try this.”

Hunk rolled his eyes, obviously very aware of it. His tongue suddenly slathered over Lance’s palm where it covered his mouth, and Lance recoiled with a shriek. “Serves you right,” Hunk muttered. He gave Lance a single cupcake to decorate while he was at cash, and made sure to emphasize that he couldn’t make a mess or Allura would have _both_ of their heads. Only when Lance swore to be careful did Hunk step back into the kitchen to decorate the remaining cupcakes.

Lance practically skipped back to the till with his cupcake. He put it down on the counter, and leaned down until he was eye level with the baked good, considering it carefully. He had to figure out exactly how to decorate it for Keith, the man of his affections.

It had to be _perfect._

* * *

Keith stole another look over at Lance across the room as he gathered the cups and plates from one of the tables. He had to actively fight the urge to sigh like a lovestruck fool when he saw Lance’s tongue peeking out in concentration. He was just too freaking cute!

The plate teetered unsettlingly in his hand, and Keith focused back on the task at hand. He couldn’t afford to break anymore plates here. His track record was already higher than everyone else’s combined, embarrassingly enough, all because of a certain cute boy with brown skin and pretty blue eyes…

Keith shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts from his mind. But it was no use. Lance was _always_ on his mind.

Especially since today, he had flowers waiting to be given to the man in his thoughts, and a question on the tip of his tongue.

Pidge, his best friend and fellow coworker, had been trying to convince him for the last couple months to do this. Ever since she got sick of hearing Keith’s quiet anecdotes of how cute Lance is, how blue his eyes, how he wants to kiss every single one of the freckles on his cheeks… He might’ve talked about Lance a lot. _Still_ talked about Lance a lot. Enough to annoy the crap out of her.

She kept nudging him, more forcefully and pointedly until he finally gathered up whatever measure of courage he had and bought a bouquet of blue and white flowers. It was full of vibrant forget-me-nots, pure white lilies of the valley, and a couple blue tulips, all showcasing a single blue rose at the center of the bouquet.

It was perfect.

It was _Lance._  
  


But what if it wasn’t enough? Would flowers do the trick? Or would Lance, a guy who was in love with love, reject him for not going big enough?

“ _Pidge_ ,” Keith whined, and hustled over to where she was trying not to doze off against the espresso machine, “what if flowers aren’t enough? I should have done more, what if he says no because he hates flowers? I--”

“Slow down, man.” Pidge groaned, and hefted herself up and off of the machine, covering a yawn with her hand. She glared up at him through barely open slits and grabbed his chin, pulling him down closer to her eye level. “First off, why is it always _me_ who has to hear about this? Secondly, flowers are fine. He’ll think they’re super gushy and romantic and all that jazz and then he’ll kiss your dumb face, or whatever.”

Keith nodded consideringly, as much as he could with Pidge still holding his chin.

“Dude, seriously, he’s gonna love it.” Pidge continued, giving Keith’s chin one final squeeze before letting go. “Any fool can see how smitten he is with you. You two are obviously made for each other, or whatever.”

“Okay,” he tried to believe her words. It must be true, he’d heard her say it for the last four months. She wouldn’t lie to him, surely, not about something as important as this. “Okay, I can do this.”

“You can do this,” Pidge echoed unenthusiastically. “Now, please, can I go back to my nap? I still have to work for another hour.”

Keith rolled his eyes and chuckled fondly. “Sure, Pidgeon.” He ruffled her hair fondly as he walked past, ignoring her half-hearted swat and grumbles about not messing up her hair. He couldn’t help but look over to Lance and Hunk on his way to the till, watching him decorate a cupcake with a piping bag full of purple icing.

Lance was bent over the counter, tongue peeking out in concentration as he meticulously dabbed tiny bits of icing in a design. Hunk seemed to be offering quiet advice, which Lance was eating up as he puttered away. Keith was too far away to see _what_ design, but he knew if Lance made it that it would be stellar, and absolutely adorable.

He was desperately curious _who_ the recipient of the cupcake would be. He’d never seen Lance design any of the baked goods here before, only sell them with a smile, so he knew something was up.

All he could do now was wait and see. And hope that the cupcake wasn’t for a special someone, on the same day he was giving Lance his flowers.

* * *

When Lance finally put the cupcake on a plate, he couldn’t help but squeal.

This was easily the cutest cupcake he’d ever decorated. Not that he had much experience, but still. It was probably one of the cutest cupcakes ever made. He’d decorated it to look like a hippo, since Keith told him once that they were his favourite animal.

Purple buttercream icing, mixed by his darling Hunk, covered the entire cupcake. He tried his hand at rolling out fondant, which turned out better than he’d expected under Hunk’s guidance, and covered a chocolate melt to make a face. Two dabs of regular buttercream made the eyes, and he stuck chocolate chips in there too to finish them off.

Looking at it completed, he wasn’t positive if Keith would know that it was a hippo, but… It was the thought that counted, right?

Hunk patted his shoulder, giving him a big smile. “It looks great!” He gushed. “Keith’s gonna love it.”

“I hope so,” Lance replied skeptically. He glanced up to the recipient of his affections, watching as he rang a customer through. He nudged Pidge, waking her up from her short nap on the espresso machine to actually make the requested drink for the customer, before untying his apron and making for the break room.

Lance groaned dramatically, flopping against Hunk as soon as Keith was through the door. “I can’t do this!”

“Yes, you can.” Hunk said firmly, and shoved Lance towards the door, grabbing the plated cupcake along the way. “You have to. You’ve come this far, you _can’t_ back out now.” He pressed the plate into his hands before shoving him through the doorway.

As the door swung shut behind him, Keith whirled around to face him and quickly hid whatever he was holding behind his back. “Hi,” Keith said breathlessly, looking quite stunned.

“Hi,” Lance echoed, holding the cupcake in front of himself awkwardly. “Uh… How are you?”

“Good…?”

“That’s good,” Lance said distractedly, and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He distantly realized he shouldn’t stay standing in the doorway in case anyone came through, and walked towards Keith. “This, uh… This is for you.” He held the cupcake out to him.

Keith’s eyes widened, looking quite surprised by the offering. “What?” He asked, but still took the plate from his hands.

“For you. I uh… _Wow,_ this is hard.” Lance rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I’ve had a crush on you for ages,” Keith almost dropped the cupcake at that, but Lance continued, “and I hope the feeling is mutual? I really hope it is. So, I was wondering if you wanted to go out? With me-- go out with me, sometime? Dinner, movie, walk in the park, literally _anything_ really--”

“Lance,” Keith interrupted fondly. “You’re rambling.”

Lance closed his mouth with a click.

Keith put the plate down on the nearest surface with a shake of his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “I can’t believe you beat me to this,” he said incredulously, finally bringing his hand out from behind his back, brandishing a bouquet of flowers.

A gasp escaped Lance’s lips before he could smother it.

“I wanted to ask you first.” Keith offered the flowers over to Lance, smiling when he accepted them. “I’ve wanted to ask you for months now, but I was never sure if you felt the same. Pidge has been _nagging_ at me to do it, since apparently I talk about you too much.”  
  


“Hunk says the same about me!”

“Really?” Keith chuckled at that. “I can’t believe we were so stupid. We could’ve done this a lot sooner, right?”

“We could’ve,” Lance admitted. He lifted the beautiful bouquet of blue and white flowers up to his face, breathing in the pleasant scent of them. “These are really nice.”

“I’m glad you like them,” Keith took a step closer, and wound an arm around Lance’s waist slowly, slow enough that he could step away if he wanted to. “Blue’s your colour.”

Lance could feel the blush darkening his cheeks, but made no move to hide it. Not from Keith. He deserved to know how he made him feel. “You think so?” He asked coyly, looping the arm holding his flowers around Keith’s neck.

“I really, really do.” Keith ducked his head slowly, eyes visibly darting between Lance’s eyes and lips, eyebrows raised in a silent question.

Lance didn’t bother waiting for him. He leaned up and pressed his lips to Keith’s with a hum. Keith was still for a moment, seemingly shocked that this was happening, but quickly got with the program and pressed into it. His arm tightened around Lance’s waist, and tilted his head _just_ so to make their kiss so much better than it already was.

Keith pulled away first, their noses brushing as he leaned back a bit. “I second your date idea, though. ‘Literally anything’ with you would be magical.”

“Sounds great.” Lance’s free hand came up to brush across Keith’s bottom lip, feeling the wetness there.

Keith leaned in to press one more quick kiss to Lance’s lips, before turning to look at the cupcake sitting innocently on the plate. “Is _that_ supposed to be a hippo?”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at his confused tone. “Yes. I’d like to think it’s pretty realistic. Do you like it?”

“I _love_ it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you guys liked this fic! And if you did, consider leaving kudos and/or a comment!
> 
> Feel free to follow me on other social media platforms! You can find me on [tumblr](http://winter-and-little-brunettes.tumblr.com/), [twitter](https://twitter.com/winternbrunett5), and [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/winterandlittlebrunettes/)! I usually post updates about my fics, so follow me to keep up to date with my writing!


End file.
